


You Get Me Through it All

by leighbird



Category: Batman - All Media Types, The Flash - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M, Major Character Injury, Missions Gone Wrong, Non-Graphic Violence, Set Between Young Justice Season 1 and Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:34:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27595543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leighbird/pseuds/leighbird
Summary: Nightwing hasn't been with the team in a while, but when he recruits Kid Flash for an intel mission, it goes about as well as one would think given their history. When things go wrong, can Wally make it back in time?
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Wally West, Dick Grayson/Wally West
Comments: 7
Kudos: 127
Collections: Dick Grayson Fic Exchange 2020, Dick Grayson Whump





	You Get Me Through it All

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kai_Leaf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kai_Leaf/gifts).



> Title from "Kids Again" by Artist vs Poet.
> 
> So excited to finally share this with Kai and everyone else, too! Felt good to write something soft, so I hope you feel the same!

“You really think we shouldn’t have brought the others with us?”

Wally West crouched next to his best friend, Dick Grayson, who was currently kneeling between trees, waiting for the guards walking past the warehouse entrance to round the building.

He was still getting used to seeing Dick in his new uniform. The black and blue were much stealthier than the old red, black, and yellow, but it also defined his lean muscles better. A lot had changed since the last team mission Dick had been on.

One thing that hadn’t, was his damn laugh.

“KF, we’re just gathering intel. We don’t need super strength and waterworks on this mission. Plus,” he gave him a flashy smile, “I miss hanging out with you.”

Wally rolled his eyes, turning his face to hide the blush. “You know, normal people, when they want to hang out, go see a movie or get dinner or, I don’t know, go ice skating.”

There was that laugh again.

“All those sure sound like dates, Wal,” he elbowed him before leaping to his feet and ran to the warehouse door. “Also, when have either of us ever been considered ‘normal’?”

Wally raced after him, easily making it to the door first. When Dick stopped next to him, the little holographic screen popped up out of his gauntlet. As he hacked into the security system, they could hear the sound of the second shift of guards walking their way.

Just as the two turned the corner, the doors opened slightly, and the teens slid in.

Dick had given Wally a very brief briefing. They were going back to Santa Prisca. Batman had intercepted a message about some undocumented shipments from the island to the mainland. They needed to find out what was being sent, who was sending them, and who the intended recipients were.

So now, they were creeping along the rafters, trying to get to the balcony passageway on the other side where Dick had located a central connection to the main system.

Watching Dick maneuver through the bars was completely unfair. Not only was Wally annoyed at how easy it was for the acrobat to get across, he had to force himself to not get distracted by how his slim body moved.

Shaking his head to keep himself focused, Wally eventually met Dick on the other side of the top floor. He was already working on hacking the system when he squatted next to him.

“This might take a bit,” Dick mumbled. “Wanna see if you can find info the old fashioned way while I’m waiting?”

“Oh, you mean, I run by real fast and try to hear what bored night guards are chatting about? You need to work on your date activities, Rob- I mean, Nightwing.”

Dick smiled at him--an appreciative look for the codename correction, but then it changed into a smirk Wally knew all too well. “So, this  _ is _ a date?”

Wally blushed again, but he shrugged it off with a joke. “Whoa,  _ buddy _ . That’s gay.”

“Yeah, no shit,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Wally laughed, then stood up. “Don’t meet any hot babes while I’m gone. It might ruin date night.”

Before Dick could respond, he dashed off. He might have been safe to blush now, but he wasn’t safe from the communication device in his ear.

_ “What if they, too, have red hair and I get confused?” _

“Shouldn’t you be focusing on hacking or something, Boy Wonder?”

_ “Rude.” _

Wally shook his head, trying to keep his laugh in. He could hear voices up ahead and needed to slow down to eavesdrop.

As he skidded to a halt behind a stack of crates, listening to the gruff voices of security guards chatting. It took at least two whole minutes for the conversation to get interesting, but that was only because a smoother, all too familiar voice entered the conversation.

“Gentlemen, I would  _ appreciate _ it if you’d finish stocking the barge before discussing unimportant things. I  _ won’t _ ask again.” Even without looking at his bald head, Wally could practically see the grimace on Lex Luthor’s face.

“Yes, sir.” The guards’ footsteps echoed on the concrete as they jogged away from him.

Just as Wally was about to inform Dick of Luthor’s involvement, he could hear the man’s phone ring.

“I’ve been expecting your call,” Luthor said. He started to pace the other direction, so Wally inched closer.

_ “See anything interesting?” _ Dick’s voice suddenly came over the comm.

“You won’t believe it,” Wally responded.

_ “Someone better looking than me?” _

“Yes, yes, the last shipment is being loaded as we speak. You held up your end of the deal, I shall do the same. No questions asked,” Luthor ended the phone call, walking away faster. 

Turning on his heel to meet back up with Dick, Wally responded. “Well I didn’t run into a mirror, Nightwing. But Luthor’s head might as well be one with how shiny it is.”

_ “He’s here?” _

“You don’t seem surprised by his involvement.”

A quiet scoff sounded.  _ “B and I had our suspicions. But I didn’t think he’d actually be on the island.” _

Wally finally made it back to Dick, who was finishing downloading the information onto a small jump drive.

“Does that make things more difficult for us? We made it here just fine,” Wally wondered out loud.

“I hate this balcony. They never put in the goddamn lights up here,” a voice sounded from behind the hallway’s main door.

Looking at each other, Dick and Wally quickly scanned the area for escape options. The rafters were too open--they’d be seen. Just as the guards started to unlock the door, the download finished and Wally spotted another door in the wall. He pointed it out, getting Dick to follow him.

Making quick work of the lock, Dick grabbed Wally and dove into the closet. They sat in the dark, listening to the footsteps of the guards going past and their discussion of the creepy balcony, but their conversation switched to something more important.

“It’s the last shipment tonight, that means we can  _ finally _ get off this damn island.”

“Yeah, well it’s also the biggest shipment. And Luthor is making everyone clear out the warehouse before we leave. He thinks one of the capes is gonna come around and find out about the chemical.”

“The capes have no idea!” A pause. “Sounds like they’re gonna be done soon, though.”

“Thank God.”

Though it was dark, Dick and Wally looked at each other again. The footsteps had gone by.

“We can’t let that shipment get off this island,” Dick opened his holographic screen again, quickly opening a connection to one of Batman’s lines. “But this info  _ has _ to get to B.” 

Wally watched as the connection failed over and over again. 

“Fuck,” Dick said under his breath.

“What are we gonna do? By the time we get off the island to get service and come back, the shipment could be gone already and we’d have to figure out how to land on the boat and-”

Dick could hear more footsteps coming, but Wally wouldn’t stop jabbering. He barely even thought the thought before lunging forward and covering his friend’s mouth with his hand. He shoved him down, catching himself with his free hand, stradling Wally.

“Hmrf?” Wally made a confused sound against his glove.

“Sh,” Dick hushed him.

The footsteps paused in front of the door, making Wally nervous. As his nerves increased, his breathing got heavier. In the quiet room, he felt he sounded like a car engine. Somehow, Dick remained quiet.

He leaned down closer, making Wally’s heart race even more. 

“Breathe, Wal,” he whispered. His voice was so quiet--barely louder than the sound of his perfectly controlled breathing.

If Wally hadn’t been trying to avoid thinking about how physically close he was to his best friend, he’d be criticizing the intense training Batman had put him under.

The footsteps finally walked back towards the exit, and Dick easily leaned back on his toes and kept a squatting position as he thought. Wally quickly sat up, trying to keep his cool.

He was certain Dick was thinking of strategies, but Wally was too distracted by the racing of his heart. They both knew the other wasn’t straight--they’d been best friends for years--but neither had really shown interest in the other. Then Dick had left. Gone to be Robin alongside Batman. Then left Batman to be Nightwing. Then showed back up to the team and--

“Kid Flash, are you  _ listening _ ?” Dick’s voice hardened. 

“Sorry, I was--”

Though the mask kept Wally from reading the emotion in Dick’s eyes, his soft, understanding smile was hard to miss.

Dick gently laid his hand on Wally’s arm. “You have to get the drive back to Batman, KF.”

“What?” he leaned back, surprised. “What do you mean? What are you gonna do?”

He huffed. “You’re faster. You can get this to Batman and get back in time to help me clean up,” he kidded. He looked around, eyes landing on an air vent. “I’ll keep that shipment in port until you get back, okay?”

Wally didn’t have time to argue or respond before Dick was unscrewing the vent and shimmying into the duct. He just shook his head, then exited the closet and made his way back to the main floor. As a distant alarm sounded--signaling Dick’s interference with the warehouse--Wally took off.

***

Dick was  _ quite _ aware he wasn’t as small as he had been on his last visit to Santa Prisca. Either that, or they’d made the air ducts smaller. It took him longer than anticipated to find another vent to get out of, but he’d also made a few stops along the way to set off various alarms, lock doors, and kill the lights in sections of the warehouse.

Once he found a big enough vent to fit through, he used that extra muscle he’d put on to easily kick through the bolted piece of metal. He jumped out and quickly checked the security feed he’d hacked into at the beginning of the mission. Just as he’d hoped, the guards had ceased loading to do perimeter checks and help their fellow workers in locked, dark rooms.

His communication system with Wally had lost connection two minutes prior, so he didn’t bother checking in. As long as the speedster made it back to the island within the next fifteen minutes, Dick would be just fine. 

Tossing an explosive Wingding into a nearby wall, he took cover behind a pillar. Dick had located another access point that would give him a direct connection to the ship’s security system. After the wall was down, he would just have to make it outside to the port and hack in once again. It’d be more difficult, since the explosion would give away his location, but it wasn’t anything he hadn’t done before.

He took a deep breath, then set off the Wingding. With a loud boom, the wall came crashing down. Dick didn’t wait for the rubble to settle, running from behind the pillar and diving over the collapsed brick.

Dick turned the corner, right into a guard, but he’d already grabbed the escrima sticks attached to his back. Two quick hits and the guard was unconscious.

Hacking into the ship’s system was a little more difficult than the main warehouse security. He’d have to use an external cord to attach his gauntlet to the interface. The difference between Luthor’s tech and Bane’s was astounding, but it wasn’t better than Dick. 

He watched as lights on the bridge flickered for a moment before shutting off completely. The loading ramp started to close when his gauntlet screen flashed red.

They’d located the hacked access point. Dick barely had time to register the notification before an electric shock targeted him.

Usually, he was pretty good at taking electricity--he’d accidentally hit himself with his own escrima many times before--but with the unexpected attack and the fact that he couldn’t detach the cord from the system, Dick lost his focus and screamed out in pain.

He knew instantly he’d fucked up. With a quick mental kick, he yanked his arm away from the cord, severing the connection. He was out of breath and his body felt sore. The suit had helped with some of the electricity, but not enough. And now, the guards  _ definitely  _ knew where he was. It was going to be a pain in the ass, but Dick huffed and took out both escrima and prepared himself as five men ran towards him.

Bouncing in place for a moment, Dick then leaped into the air and focused in on their attack patterns. At that point, he’d didn’t think to check in with Wally about his ETA. He just planned on staying on his feet until he’d pushed through to escape.

Every time he took out a guard, two more seemed to take their place. Some had knives, some had clubs, others had guns. He focused on the latter first, making sure to dodge bullets and disarm as quickly as possible.

Just as he was getting into a rhythm, Dick saw Lex Luthor, standing on the boat with his arms folded across his chest, watching the fight unfold. He smiled cockily at Dick when he looked up.

Instinctively, Dick growled at the sight of him. He thought to throw an explosive at the deck, but as he grabbed the Wingding, one of the guards got in a lucky stab to his thigh. Dick grunted, kicking the man in the face and then tossed the Wingding towards the ship. 

He knew doing so would leave him vulnerable for a moment, and the guards were ready for it. As the device left his hand, a forceful swing of a club met his ribs, knocking the air out of him. A punch connected with his jaw, sending him backwards, right into the arms of another guard.

The man wrapped his arms around Dick’s chest, holding him in place as the others circled in closer. Though he was starting to get nervous about the pain in his legs and ribs, he didn’t waste time in using the guard in front of him to kick off, flipping himself over the one holding him.

He landed, knocking out two guards with one sweep of his escrima, but the motion was quickly cut off by something rock hard. Dick turned around to see a man--who had obviously been hitting the Kobra-Venom--holding the baton in his hand.

“Fuck,” Dick knew his face gave him away. He was screwed.

***

It took three minutes for Wally to get to Gotham from Santa Prisca. Four minutes to explain to Batman and the newest Robin what had happened and why he desperately needed to get  _ back  _ to the island. Less than a minute to get to Mount Justice. Another two minutes for Artemis and Conner to get their gear and use Sphere to follow him back to Dick.

Barely over ten minutes had passed, but as soon as Wally knew he was in range for connection, he started calling over the comm.

“Nightwing? What’s your location? Artemis and SB are right behind me.” Not pausing until he hit land again, Wally quickly took in the commotion from all sides of the island.

The other two jumped off the Super-Cycle and ran over, stopping on either side of him.

“Geez, he’s sure been up to some trouble, huh?” Artemis joked. “Is that wall on fire?”

“What’s his location, Kid Flash?” Conner asked.

“Nightwing? Your location?” Wally knitted his eyebrows together, hearing guards calling out orders to each other nearby. 

“Get to the boat! We  _ have _ to get that shipment out  _ tonight _ !”

“Guess we should just follow the commotion,” Artemis said, already jogging after the guards.

While Conner was quick to follow, Wally hesitated.  _ Why isn’t Dick responding? _

Shaking himself out of his thoughts and going after the others, Wally came up on them squatting in the trees. Hiding on the outskirts of the dock, he understood why there was more commotion coming from this side of the island. 

There was a giant hole in the hull, likely caused by a piece of Bat tech. As the ship was sinking, the crew were desperately trying to get the crates off the deck, but the ramp wouldn’t come out. It seemed the power from the bridge had been cut--probably also Dick’s doing.

“At least he’s thorough,” Artemis sighed, taking a quick survey of the land. She frowned. “Where  _ is _ he?”

“Not here,” Wally huffed. He didn’t wait for either of them to respond before taking off.

He ran all the way around the outer part of the island before circling inward. He kept calling to Dick over the comm, but he never once responded. 

It took a full minute for Wally to reach the far wall of the warehouse--the same side they’d first broken into. He was quick to spot Dick, collapsed onto his side, facing away from him, broken batons far from his hands, and not moving.

Wally skidded over to him, quickly turning him onto his back. There was blood flowing from a nasty wound on his head, cuts along his legs and ribs.

“Dick? Rob- Nightwing, can you hear me?” Wally frantically reached for his neck, trying to feel a pulse. Though unresponsive and his pulse too fast, his heart beat.

“Shit.”

He could hear Conner and Artemis running over to them, kneeling down so they could help. He couldn’t bring himself to let go of Dick, even when Artemis wedged herself between them.

“He’s breathing, but it’s shallow,” Conner didn’t move closer to their injured teammate, still standing over them.

“Some of these wounds need immediate attention,” Artemis started sorting through her pockets and quiver. 

Wally only barely moved to let her start patching wounds, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Dick’s unconscious face. His heart was racing. He’d only been gone ten minutes. How could he have gotten this hurt? Why didn’t the three get there sooner? What if it had taken longer for them to get to Santa Prisca? What if Dick didn’t make it?

“Wally!” Artemis hissed.

Focusing back on his friends, he noticed the blood already covering her hands. 

“I-”

“We need you to keep a perimeter.”

“I won’t leave him-” 

“I need you to make sure the guards aren’t coming this way until we can move him out!”

“But-”

“ _ Wally _ -”

“Shit, move!” Conner pushed both of them out of the way.

“What the-”

Wally cut himself off, watching as he started to push rhythmically on Dick’s chest. Wally’s breath caught in his throat. 

“KF, perimeter, now!” Artemis yelled, moving back to block his view. 

“I can’t leave him-”

A sharp intake of breath cut him off. Dick was coughing and still unresponsive, but breathing again.

Neither of the other two looked back at Wally before he finally went to make sure none of the guards were heading that way.

His mind was racing faster than his feet. One part of his brain kept saying Dick was going to be okay. Another was telling him it was his fault. And the other was wondering what would happen if he didn’t make it.

Wally tried to ignore the latter two, but he couldn’t stop thinking. What if his best friend  _ died _ ? Not only that, what if he never got the chance to tell Dick how he really felt?

He’d been off working with the Bat for so long--left the team to themselves. It had given Wally time to really figure out that he was in love with him. When they got back home, he  _ had _ to tell him.

***

“-and I just need you to wake up, okay?” 

Dick immediately recognized Wally’s voice. Though he sounded like he’d been crying, it was definitely his best friend. The haziness combined from painkillers and injuries made it difficult to wake up, so he couldn’t stop the speedster from babbling on.

“I just, like, don’t know how to tell you, y’know?” Wally huffed. “Like, honest to god, how am I supposed to tell my best fucking friend that I’m in love with him? Especially when you date hot aliens and hacker geniuses  _ and _ just about everyone on the planet gushes after you. I can’t compete with that!”

Wally sighed, finally pausing long enough for Dick to take in the steady beep of monitors next to him. If anyone else had been sitting in the room with him, they would have noticed how his heart had started beating faster. Though, in typical fashion, Wally was too caught up in his own anxieties to register it.

“I’d get it if you didn’t want me the same way, but…” his voice trailed off to a whisper. “But I really  _ do _ love you, Dick. So either way, you need to wake up and get better because I  _ hate _ seeing you like this, man.”

The feet of the chair scratched across the floor, then a shaky, warm hand gently rested on top of Dick’s. 

He could barely remember anything past the big guard throwing him into a wall and the darkness that took over seconds later, and really the whole mission was a blur. Even with the side effects of the concussion he definitely had and the medication in his system, he was pretty sure Wally hadn’t actually  _ meant _ they were on a date.

Then again, maybe Dick had  _ wanted _ it to be a date. He had missed his best friend in so many more ways than he could have imagined. His laugh, his optimism, that stupid smile he got when the entire team groaned at his jokes.

_ Oh shit,  _ he thought. Of course he’d wanted it. The constant flirting. The lingering touches. It was all he thought about for a long time while fighting side by side with Wally. 

It was a nice thought, one he’d wished for over the years on the team, though by the time he’d left, it seemed it would only be a dream. He’d only ever expressed interest in the other members of the team, never him. Bruce would be disappointed with how oblivious he’d been.

It took some effort, but finally managing to take a deep breath, Dick was able to open his eyes, and he flipped his hand over so that he could interlock his fingers with Wally’s.

Even with his head down, he could see that Wally’s eyes went wide. He had to stifle a laugh when his friend jumped out of his chair and screamed.

“What the  _ fuck _ , man?” Wally looked like he was ready to run, but he didn’t let go of Dick’s hand.

At that, he  _ did _ laugh. He quickly regretted it--the movement making his ribs and chest ache. He hissed in pain, squeezing his eyes shut. It seemed the painkillers were wearing off.

“Whoa, wait, you okay?”

Letting their fingers slide apart, Wally reached forward to rest his hand on Dick’s shoulder, gently pushing down as if to make sure he didn’t do something he shouldn’t.

He took a deep breath, trying to focus on anything but the pain. Reaching up, Dick took Wally’s hand again.

“So, you love me, huh?”

Wally’s face paled. Dick smirked, expecting him to start stammering out excuses, but instead, he just stared blankly, as if he were finally out of words.

He closed his eyes again, trying to let the idea of Wally being in love with him override the pain. 

“Yeah,” Wally finally responded, squeezing Dick’s hand with the word.

Wally  _ did _ want him. 

“So…?” 

Dick opened his eyes to see a nervous look on his best friend’s face.

“I’m feeling the aster, man, just give me a moment.”

Wally huffed and rolled his eyes, sitting back down in his chair. “You’re the worst,” he mumbled. “Y’know you have me feeling very un-traught right now, right?”

Another laugh escaped, making the ache through Dick’s body rise again, but he worked harder to hide it.

Wally noticed, but didn’t comment this time.

“You know ‘traught’ already has an antonym?” 

Just shaking his head, Wally didn’t answer.

“And also,” Dick paused, making sure he chose the right words. “I’ve been falling for you for years, thinking you’d never want me.”

Wally scoffed. “You’re joking, right? Boy Wonder? Batman’s protege? Natural born leader  _ and _ hot as hell? You’re dumb as shit if you think anyone couldn’t want you.”

His smile turned sad as he remembered countless times seeing the rest of the team share tender moments, including Wally with Artemis. Dick had always tried to act like it didn’t hurt--Batman would never approve--but it had. Especially when the one person who could always make him feel better asked out other friends. By the time he’d left, Dick wasn’t even sure if they would notice, but for him…

“I really missed you, Wal,” Dick said quietly. 

Wally smiled, slowly bringing Dick’s hand to his lips and pressing a small kiss to his knuckles. “Of course you did, I’m a pleasure to be around.”

Though the pain started to pull back Dick’s attention, he felt less pressured to be strong. His best friend was watching over him and wouldn’t leave him alone.


End file.
